Crossing the Line

When internal sales talk crosses the line to become outside customer conversation, your perspective and word-choice can leave you fully exposed and vulnerable.

The words used in customer conversations are a dead give away for how you see the world, and how customers will see you.

Customers intuitively pick up on your approach to solving their problems and serving their needs. They’re deciding if you should be their supplier based on your communications, which are driven by your choice of words.

Competitive Advantage vs. Value Proposition

Consider this, if you’re describing your competitive advantage to customers your naked. Why?

Because, competitive advantage is “internal sales talk”. It’s needed when talking sales and marketing within your company. It identifies what you do against the competition and helps you design service offerings.

However, customers aren’t interested in hearing about your competitive advantage (read competitive comparisons).

They’re interested in what you’re going to do for them.

Specifically, how you’re going to:

• Lower their costs
• Improve their performance
• Make them look better

They’re interested in your value proposition.

Speak to customers about what they care about

Ultimately, customers seek what serves them best.

It won’t matter that you’re the world’s best in xyz, if customers don’t care about xyz.

For sales people that means not crossing the line, unless and until you’re communicating appropriately from the customer’s perspective, using words that show it.

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Chris Arlen
President, Revenue-IQ

Add comment November 5th, 2009